Tears in the Rain
by bacta.junkie
Summary: She was fire, he was ice. One day he realized, he'd extinguished her flame. He did what he had to. He left. Has a happy ending, relax! Slightly OOC. Inspired by a true story, like all of my works!
1. Happy Ending

**I suppose it's fortunate that I have so many stories of romance and heartbreak to my credit. Otherwise I wouldn't ****be able to write so many romantic fanfics. There's a real-life story behind this, just like my other fanfics; if you ask nicely, I might just tell it to you.**

* * *

**Fire & Ice**

She was an inferno. She burned brightly, with an iridescence that showed him the light where there had been none before. She sizzled and sparkled, warm and free, unconstrained by the preconceptions of reality. She was fire.

He was a glacier. He was cold and unfeeling, with a sort of chill that made you see your own breath. He froze every room he entered, and his expression never faltered from its cold exterior, burdened by the eternal mask. He was ice.

But when they met…

She melted him. For the first time in his life, he felt the warmth. He wanted to live, to be himself, be free like she was. He wanted to experience the world, experience everything there was, just for the sake of experiencing. He wanted to see things through her eyes. He wanted to burn like she did.

And yet, at the same time, he chilled her. Her fire softened to a dull glow. She no longer lit up every room she entered. She was no longer radiant. She seemed content to simply exist, perfectly happy with her place in the world.

He saw this, this effect he'd had on her, and resolved to correct it. He lit himself. He began to burn the way she used to, in an effort to rekindle her spark, but it did the opposite. The warmer and brighter he burned, the colder she became. She was slowly freezing.

He had to take drastic action.

He realized that to reverse the effect of the freezing, he had to bring her back to the state she'd been in back when she'd been on fire. In other words, he had to leave her life completely. He really didn't want to do that, but it was for her own good. He was willing to give up the warmth she gave him if it meant she could have it back. And so, two and a half years into their relationship, four years into their friendship, Draco Malfoy walked out of the flat he shared with Luna Lovegood, determined to never see her again.

* * *

He'd packed in the middle of the night, long after she'd retired for the evening. He used his wand, silencing the drawers as they opened and emptied and then the trunks as they filled and closed. Enchanting his luggage to follow him out the door, he stepped out into the rain and walked nonchalantly down the street to the apparition point. He hadn't at all expected Luna to follow him out into the pouring rain, dressed only in a pair of slippers and a bathrobe.

"DRACO MALFOY, YOU GET BACK INSIDE THIS INSTANT!" She shouted at him, hysterical. He turned to confront her. He hadn't meant for her to even notice his absence until morning. He'd left a note for her, but he didn't expect her to have noticed in her haste to follow him. He was completely unprepared for the conversation he'd inevitably be having in no more than a few moments.

"Luna, please don't make this harder than it has to be-" His voice was tired and desperate. He'd always hated the rain.

"Why." She sounded small and fragile. He was seriously concerned that his next words, if not chosen carefully, would possibly shatter her. If only he knew how accurate that was.

"If you're wondering if it's because I don't care about you anymore, you're mistaken." He took a step towards her. They were both soaked now. She was shivering visibly. "Look at you. You're freezing. You used to go frolic in the rain all the time during our school days. What Happened?" He sighed. "I'll tell you what happened. I happened. I froze you."

"You froze me?" She had somehow managed to mix furious and weeping in three words. "What does that even mean?"

He took her hands in his own. "Luna Lovegood, when I fell in love with you, you were the most vibrant, care-free individual I had ever met. You lived life as much as you could. And that rubbed off on me. I was stoic and cold, always masking my emotions and never allowing so much as a smirk on my face. And somehow, that rubbed off on you. You used to be fire, and I used to be ice. And in the process of melting me, you froze."

He dropped her hands and began to back away. "I'm sorry for leaving you, I really am. I love you more than life itself, and that's why I have to do this. So you can burn brightly once more. I'm so sorry, Luna." He drew his wand, preparing to apparate.

"DRACO MALFOY, YOU LISTEN TO ME RIGHT NOW." The words came out with such fury that he dropped his wand in shock. She'd never been this angry before.

"You are the love of my life. I don't want anyone else. I will never want anyone else. If you leave me now, my fire will be gone forever. I can get it back, I promise, but I can't do it without you. I need you, Draco, Please…" She whimpered, tears streaming down her face, almost, but not quite, masked in the rainfall on her cheeks.

He chanced one last look at her. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he knew she'd already won, but in the forefront of his consciousness, this would be the last image of her in his mind, ever. He saw her, his Luna, looking more broken than he'd ever seen her. He bent down to retrieve his wand, but found himself pocketing it instead. He retraced his steps to her, drawing her into his arms and hushing her quietly, whispering sweet nothings into her ear. He couldn't leave her, he realized. He was foolish to think he ever could. Instead, he pressed his lips to hers.

Her tears gradually stopped falling, until it was just the two of them, wrapped in each other's arms, her head buried in his chest and his in her hair. His enchanted luggage followed them back into the flat, depositing his things where they belonged. They showered, changed once more, and slipped back into bed. He burned the note before retiring. She clung to him in her sleep, justifiably desperate not to let him go. He found the gesture charming, but redundant. He wasn't going anywhere ever again.

* * *

The following morning, he woke to an oomph, and a weight dropping on his stomach. To his surprise, he found the woman of his dreams staring back into his eyes, her face unsettlingly close to his, given how recently he'd woken up. She giggled.

"Good morning, Draco."

He couldn't help but smile back. "Good morning, Luna." She kissed him hello.

"Hey, the sparkle in your eyes is back… I haven't seen it in years."

Her grin grew wider as she bounced out of bed. "Thanks to you. I saw what I had done, what I'd almost lost, and I just had to fix it. I couldn't risk letting you go, Draco."

He strolled up to her lazily, as though he'd just gotten out of bed or something. "I appreciate the effort, but you don't have to force it. It'll come back on its own someday."

She skipped back over to him, wrapping her arms around him. "It already has. I just found a new source for the fire."

"What's that?" He puzzled.

"You. You light my fire." She smiled up at him. He kissed her again.

"I love you so much, Luna."

"I love you too, Draco."

* * *

**I'm considering writing a sad ending to it in the form of a second chapter. Thoughts? **


	2. Sad End

**Due to overwhelming opposition to the idea, I've decided I'm totally going to write a sad version of this story. You'll notice the majority is almost identical to the original; that's because this isn't actually a sequel, just an alternate ending. Let the hate mail commence!**

**Fire & Ice**

She was an inferno. She burned brightly, with an iridescence that showed him the light where there had been none before. She sizzled and sparkled, warm and free, unconstrained by the preconceptions of reality. She was fire.

He was a glacier. He was cold and unfeeling, with a sort of chill that made you see your own breath. He froze every room he entered, and his expression never faltered from its cold exterior, burdened by the eternal mask. He was ice.

But when they met…

She melted him. For the first time in his life, he felt the warmth. He wanted to live, to be himself, be free like she was. He wanted to experience the world, experience everything there was, just for the sake of experiencing. He wanted to see things through her eyes. He wanted to burn like she did.

And yet, at the same time, he chilled her. Her fire softened to a dull glow. She no longer lit up every room she entered. She was no longer radiant. She seemed content to simply exist, perfectly happy with her place in the world.

He saw this, this effect he'd had on her, and resolved to correct it. He lit himself. He began to burn the way she used to, in an effort to rekindle her spark, but it did the opposite. The warmer and brighter he burned, the colder she became. She was slowly freezing.

He had to take drastic action.

He realized that to reverse the effect of the freezing, he had to bring her back to the state she'd been in back when she'd been on fire. In other words, he had to leave her life completely. He really didn't want to do that, but it was for her own good. He was willing to give up the warmth she gave him if it meant she could have it back. And so, two and a half years into their relationship, four years into their friendship, Draco Malfoy walked out of the flat he shared with Luna Lovegood, determined to never see her again.

He'd packed in the middle of the night, long after she'd retired for the evening. He used his wand, silencing the drawers as they opened and emptied and then the trunks as they filled and closed. Enchanting his luggage to follow him out the door, he stepped out into the rain and walked nonchalantly down the street to the apparition point. He hadn't at all expected Luna to follow him out into the pouring rain, dressed only in a pair of slippers and a bathrobe.

"DRACO MALFOY, YOU GET BACK INSIDE THIS INSTANT!" She shouted at him, hysterical. He turned to confront her. He hadn't meant for her to even notice his absence until morning. He'd left a note for her, but he didn't expect her to have noticed in her haste to follow him. He was completely unprepared for the conversation he'd inevitably be having in no more than a few moments.

"Luna, please don't make this harder than it has to be-" His voice was tired and desperate. He'd always hated the rain.

"Why." She sounded small and fragile. He was seriously concerned that his next words, if not chosen carefully, would possibly shatter her. If only he knew how accurate that was.

"If you're wondering if it's because I don't care about you anymore, you're mistaken." He took a step towards her. They were both soaked now. She was shivering visibly. "Look at you. You're freezing. You used to go frolic in the rain all the time during our school days. What Happened?" He sighed. "I'll tell you what happened. I happened. I froze you."

"You froze me?" She had somehow managed to mix furious and weeping in three words. "What does that even mean?"

He took her hands in his own. "Luna Lovegood, when I fell in love with you, you were the most vibrant, care-free individual I had ever met. You lived life as much as you could. And that rubbed off on me. I was stoic and cold, always masking my emotions and never allowing so much as a smirk on my face. And somehow, that rubbed off on you. You used to be fire, and I used to be ice. And in the process of melting me, you froze."

He dropped her hands and began to back away. "I'm sorry for leaving you, I really am. I love you more than life itself, and that's why I have to do this. So you can burn brightly once more. I'm so sorry, Luna." He drew his wand, preparing to apparate.

"DRACO MALFOY, YOU LISTEN TO ME RIGHT NOW." The words came out with such fury that he dropped his wand in shock. She'd never been this angry before.

"You are the love of my life. I don't want anyone else. I will never want anyone else. If you leave me now, my fire will be gone forever. I can get it back, I promise, but I can't do it without you. I need you, Draco, Please…" She whimpered, tears streaming down her face, almost, but not quite, masked in the rainfall on her cheeks.

He bent down to recover his wand, simultaneously turning to face her once more. A single tear shed from his eyes. His features were as icy as they'd used to be. The heat was gone. "I'm sorry, Luna. You can't stop me. I have to do this. It's… for your own good." He turned on his heel, disappearing with a crack.

She collapsed on the ground, weeping into her knees. She'd never felt so broken and helpless. She lay there, crumpled into a ball in the pouring rain, for several hours before finally succumbing to exhaustion.

The muggle coroner the following morning would declare her cause of death to be hypothermia, but the autopsy was never completed, so he couldn't know for sure. Halfway through performing the examination, the girl on the operating table vanished into thin air with several audible cracks accompanying her. Shortly afterwards, none of the staff had even the slightest idea what they were doing there in the first place. The incident was never reported.

She was buried on a hilltop deep in the Scottish countryside. The cemetery was where some of the most famous and important wizards in history had been buried, and included several prominent figures from the war. Her headstone read, "_Luna Lovegood. Friend, Fighter, True Believer." _Her friends and family were suspicious of her untimely demise, especially since she'd been dead and buried before any of them had the slightest idea what had happened. They attempted to question her longtime boyfriend and roommate, Draco Malfoy, but they never got the chance. The morning after her grave appeared in the cemetery, a second one was filled in beside it. A ring of flowers magically grew in the space between the two graves. The headstone of the second bared the words, "_Draco Malfoy. Wizard, Warrior, Loved."_

**Woah. That was not the way I'd intended it to end. I suppose I'm satisfied with the ending, if not particularly happy with it. But then, I suppose that's the point of a sad ending. I hope you got as much out of that as I did. Again I point out, the events that transpired in this, though a work of fiction, are inspired by my real life.**


End file.
